University Park at MIT

During the American Revolutionary War, one area of higher land was the site of a gun battery (now called Fort Washington) erected to guard against British attack during the Siege of Boston.

Simplex, owner of the largest parcel of land, left Cambridge in 1969 (the company later became a unit of Tyco International).

Most of the buildings were razed in the 1970s, leaving a large area of overgrown vacant lots that languished for many years while MIT tried to find a use for the 27-acre (110,000 m2) property.

For some years afterwards, the site was the subject of protests by community activists who objected to MIT's plans for gentrification of the neighborhood, and wanted the development to include more affordable housing as well as to preserve the remaining businesses and historic buildings in the area.

At the opposite end of the city-designated "revitalization area", the former Ford plant near the Boston University Bridge, originally built in 1913, has also been converted to office space.

University Park Common includes over 100 sculptural and graphic pieces as part of Traces,[5] an artwork that marks moments in the 250-year history of the site.

Commissioned by Forest City Boston, Traces tells stories of 18th and 19th century commerce and of technical innovations made in the local area.